There are known in the art miniature butt-contact programming switches packaged in a common enclosure yet operated independently of each other.
The butt-contact arrangement provides for a pair of conductors being brought into physical engagement or moved away from each other by a purely mechanical means. The conductors have little resilience, therefore, the amount of physical force necessary for holding them together under conditions of normal usage, including shock and vibration is substantial. In a miniature switching device, the amount of force that can be applied is, however, limited, resulting in unreliable electric performance.
Butt-contact switches in the art are limited to "on-off" functions and are difficult to adjust by human fingers due to miniature size. They have also life expectancy limited to 2,000 cycles. Another disadvantage is that two conventional switches when placed side to side occupy more space than a single switch controlling equal number of circuits.